Several weeks ago, we announced McFarlane Toys had acquired the licensing rights to 20th Century Fox Studio's summer blockbuster film Alien vs. Predator (otherwise known as AvP).

The premise of the film -- that debuts Aug. 13 -- is this: Upon discovering a tunnel leading to an ancient, massive underground pyramid, Lex, a female adventurer/environmentalist, leads a team of explorers on a quest 2,000 feet below the Antarctic surface. The pyramid is a 5,000-year-old training ground for Predators, where they earn their "warrior status" by killing the Aliens, using humans as sacrificial bait. It is here, in the maze of chambers and shifting walls, where she partners with a doomed Predator, becoming a "hunter" herself, when her team is caught up in a fierce battle between the Predators and Aliens.

The McFarlane Toys line is slated for release in August and will feature five figures from the film:

The Alien and Predator films are among the most popular movie franchises in recent memory. In 1979, Twentieth Century Fox released director Ridley Scott's Alien, which was hailed by critics and audiences worldwide as a seminal work of science fiction. The film's success spawned a film franchise for the studio, with three more adventures in the saga: Aliens, Alien 3 and Alien Resurrection.

In 1987, Fox introduced us to another creature from outer space, Predator, an invisibility-cloaked extra-terrestrial warrior that wreaked havoc in the jungle. Predator 2, which followed three years later, raised hell in Los Angeles.

Now, nearly a quarter-century after the debut of Alien, comes Alien vs. Predator, which has the iconic monsters from two of the scariest film franchises ever battle each other for the first time on screen.

Twentieth Century Fox had been developing scripts of this movie for a decade, ever since the first Alien Vs Predator comic book was published. The first scripts were based on the comic and set in outer space. The Alien was always considered the bigger franchise so it seemed natural to set Alien vs. Predator in the world of the Aliens rather than that of the Predators.

Director Paul W.S. Anderson (Resident Evil) had always liked the idea of the story being set on Earth, in modern times -- and this concept appealed to the Studio. It was designed as a sequel to the Predator movies and a prequel to the Alien movies so it doesn't contradict or go against anything in the Alien franchise.

The bringing together of the Aliens and Predators was hinted at in the second Predator and Anderson is convinced that most fans of the genre want to see the Aliens on Earth.

"I had the idea for this movie nine years ago," claims Anderson. "And being able to make a movie that I have thought about for that long is really a dream come true. At the same time, trying to follow in the footsteps of some of the best filmmakers in the world is incredibly intimidating and kept me awake on many nights. I consider Scott's and Cameron's movies to be masterpieces.

"There are a number of innovations in AvP," Anderson continues. "The Alien Queen, for example, is the most sophisticated animatronic ever put on screen. It's got double the points of articulation of T-Rex that was built for Jurassic Park. So, in terms of what it can do, how it can perform, it's a massive leap forward from what James Cameron was doing with two stuntmen in the Alien Queen suit operating the arms. That was a puppeteered marionette and this is really state of the art. It's as good as you can get."

Look for this film to debut on Aug. 13 and the McFarlane Toys figures to hit store shelves concurrently. In the meantime, enjoy the photography.